What Does Your Vanity Cost You?

How much do we really spend on looking good? Have you actually ever sat down to figure it out? Looking is good isn’t cheap. And everyone who claims that they “WOKE UP LIKE THIS” is pretty much lying.

I’m not just talking about the money that we spend on our gym membership, or the shakes that we buy, but the creams, lotions, etc. They all add up.

The obvious: This is where you see gym fees, fancier cars, and tanning and everything else. We do what we can to hold back the hands of time. Gym fees alone can cost anywhere between $30-$100 a month. Let’s not even talk everything else.

The not-so obvious: Ever notice how our wardrobe changes as your body does? We try to stay in shape (or maybe we don’t), and instead of working out, we just buy new things that would flatter our new bodies better? Heck, buying workout clothes becomes a challenge sometimes- especially if you’re planning on wearing them to the gym.

The subtle choices: These are the choices that are made subconsciously. You know the time when you walk into a store, and pay attention to products that claim to get rid of fine lines and wrinkles? The products that have almost the exact same formula as your normal products, but you’re willing to pay more the magic words on the bottle?

The dramatic makeovers: We all fight the signs of aging. We can’t help it. The skin around eyes starts looking a little droopy, or your boobs isn’t perky as they used to be. It’s natural to struggle with aging. We all go through it. Women more than men.

Yeah, men tend to experience the dreaded midlife crisis by buying a new car, or worse dating someone much younger, but women tend to look for options that can bring back some of their youth. And there are tons of options out there who offer a wide range of cosmetic procedures to help with subtle physical changes Heck, I just turned 30, and I see visible signs of aging in the mirror. It’s scary, and no amount of facial exercises will fix that.

Aging is natural. It happens to all of us, and it has an impact on all of us. Heck, we spend so much going to the gym and paying attention to what to eat in a vain attempt to hold on our youth as long as possible. No, maybe it’s not even trying to hold on our youth- maybe it’s being comfortable in our skin a bit longer.

The point is that our choices are different the older we get. We tend to spend money on things that we wouldn’t even think twice about when we were younger.

4 Comments

It’s a fact that women especially tend to spend more money to try to look younger. I’ve kept up with the same cleansing regimen but have tried products that would “banish” wrinkles and spot reduce under eye darkness. I realized that the food we consume has a lot do with the result of our skin and have avoided most processed foods for some time with great results. Nice article!

I used to spend a lot of money in my early 20s – personal trainer, gym fees, hairdresser, massages, creams, etc. Now as priorities have changed and I’m a decade older and hopefully wiser I still want to look good but I’ve realised it doesn’t have to be expensive or time consuming. A regular run along the beach, lots of fruit and vegetables daily, a decent cream or coconut oil for your skin, lip balm and mascara generally suffice and can slow down the ageing process. Then there’s the clothes, clothes can definitely make us look and feel young and beautiful. A few good staples in your wardrobe and choosing quality over quantity can do the trick.